The Changing Structure of the U.S. Economy: Its Effects on Army Enlistments

TheArmyhasacontinuinginterestinthefuturestateoftheeconomyandinits underlyingdemographics.Manyrecentstudieshaveshownacloserelationshipbetween unemploymentandArmyenlistmentrates(see,forexample,Daula,Fagan,&Smith, 1982;Dale&Gilroy,1984;Horne,1984;Brown,1985),andtherehasbeenmuchdiscussionabouthowwellArmyrecruitingwillfareastheeconomyimproves(H.Hall, 1984).Inthispaper,wediscusssomeofthisrecentworkanditsimplicationsforArmy recruiting,andconcludethatArmyenlistmentgoalscanbemetifmilitarypayand benefitsremaincompetitiveandifrecruitingresourcesaresufficienttopermitthe Armytopenetratemoredeeplyintotighteninglabormarkets.